The 20s and 30s of life can seem like a blessing & curse all at the same time. You are full of life, young, energetic and hopeful yet at the same time you may wondering where life is taking you. You see people around you starting new endeavors and careers, getting married, and having children often leaving you feeling alone.
There was a time I felt exactly like this! I worked for a well known accounting firm, was paid well, everyone at work loved me yet I would talk with co-workers with an artificial smile thinking “there has to be more to life than this”. I would come home daily by 6:00pm, catch a quick TV show then it was time to get ready for the next day.
I had become miserable Monday through Friday being at work and the weekends became the same as I would dread going back to work on Monday!
Once day I cried out “Lord, there has to be more to life than this! What am I doing wrong?” He directed me to Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”
Oh Jesus! There is hope! He also revealed to me that I had not handed everything over to Him to manage in order to give me the hope and future spoken about in Jeremiah.
Now hear me out. I have always been a planner. I planned each semester’s schedule through graduation during my first semester in college. Anytime I travel I research the best price, plan daily excursions ahead of time and print out all boarding passes as soon as it is 24 hours before my flight departure time. I think it is safe to say that I am naturally a planner. However, as great of a planner as I am, it does not compare to the plans that God has for me. Because I had not given complete control of my life to God at that time, I was feeling miserable, incomplete and longing for so much more.
Our lives are like a game played by the creator. The creator knows the game’s ins and outs, and every move, play, and tactic to beat anyone that challenges him. Because he is the game’s master and creator, he has already thought through every possible move and due to his divine insight he can easily create new strategies if need be. This is the same way we are to look at God in regards to our life. Handing over the game controller of our lives to God puts our lives back in control of the person who created it.
We no longer have to manipulate our careers or relationships to fit some idea that we have conjured in our head to reflect where we think we should be in life. We simply just need to hand over the controller and wait for further instructions.
As I handed over the reigns of my life, He started pulling out all of the desires He had already placed within me. I desired to teach at the collegiate level and start a non-profit for young women but thought I would need years of experience to do both.
Six months after I wholeheartedly gave the control back to God I landed my first collegiate teaching position and left the accounting firm. Two years after that point, the non-profit vision came to pass as Young Women Lead. The more control I gave him, the more He gave me. He was just waiting for me to give Him the controller so that He could take over.
As you reflect on your life, ask yourself if you have truly given the controller to God. Are you trying to manipulate a situation for your own pleasure? Are you living life opposite of what He has called you to do? Spend time with God and ask him to show you what areas of your life need to be totally released to Him in order for Him to give you the abundant life He has promised.
Chrystal
“You have made known to me the path of life; you fill me with joy in your presence with eternal pleasures at your right hand”
Psalms 16:11
